Arsenal started their Champions League season with a 2-0 triumph over Athletic Bilbao yesterday.
The Gunners faced a tricky fixture against the La Liga outfit at San Mames.
Athletic were defensively solid in the opening half, and Mikel Arteta’s side barely created chances.
However, Arsenal produced a much improved second half display before a late double strike.
Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring with a terrific run behind the defence, just 36 seconds after coming on.
Leandro Trossard provided the through ball for the opener. Martinelli assisted the Belgian for the second goal.
Martinelli was awarded the man of the match after a fantastic cameo off the bench.
Aside from his goal and an assist, the 24-year-old won 100 percent of his duels (2/2), completing 100 percent of his dribbles (2/2).
Martinelli had a passing accuracy of 100 percent. It was a perfect substitute showing from the Brazilian attacker to silence his critics.
Shortly after the 2-0 win, Martinelli took to Instagram to thank the fans for the support.
He posted: “Kicking off the new campaign with a win!! Thank you for the support.”
Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was one of those to respond with ‘Martishow’.
The Gunners return to Premier League action this weekend. They will host Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
The Cityzens picked up a 3-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and are due to host Napoli in the Champions League tomorrow.
Arsenal obviously have two days of extra rest than the Mancunian giants, but they still need to produce a big performance to beat them.
Manager Mikel Arteta has a selection headache on his hands for multiple positions.
Martinelli has made a huge statement with his goal and assist against Athletic and could be rewarded with a start ahead of Eberechi Eze.
Eze had a tough outing on his Champions League debut. Martinelli deserves to be reinstated in the XI as he will be brimming with confidence.
The manager also needs to decide on whether to stick with Cristhian Mosquera at right centre-back or reinstate William Saliba in the XI.
Saliba was substituted just four minutes into the Liverpool game and has not played a part in the two fixtures after the international break.
The Frenchman has been training with the team over the past few days. Despite Mosquera’s superb form, Saliba looks likely to partner Gabriel.
Stats from Sofascore.com